Climate Change Will Affect Public Health – A Call to Action

Special Issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine

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San Diego, October 7, 2008 – Extreme heat events (EHE), or heat waves, are the most prominent cause of weather-related human mortality in the United States, responsible for more deaths annually than hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes combined. These events, and other climate-related changes in the worldwide environment that directly affect public health, are examined in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The papers in this special issue provide a crucial state-of-the art overview of many of the issues at the intersection of climate change and health.

Guest Editors — Howard Frumkin, MD, DrPH, and Jeremy J. Hess, MD, MPH, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta; and Anthony J. McMichael, PhD, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra — and their colleagues issue a call to action. Dr. Frumkin observes that “a decade ago there was active debate about whether climate change was real, and whether human contributions have played a major causal role in the recently observed global warming. That debate is largely over, although the inherent complexities of climate system science and various uncertainties over details remain. A corollary question — whether climate change would have implications for public health — also has been settled. The answer is yes. A range of possible effects has been identified, some now fairly well understood and others yet unclear. …Public health and preventive medicine, as applied disciplines, share a common mission: to prevent illness, injury and premature mortality, and to promote health and well-being. This mission therefore carries a mandate to address climate change. Fortunately, the basic concepts and tools of public health and preventive medicine provide a sound basis for addressing climate change…Climate change, an environmental health hazard of unprecedented scale and complexity, necessitates health professionals developing new ways of thinking, communicating, and acting. With regard to thinking, it requires addressing a far longer time frame than has been customary in health planning and it needs a systems approach that extends well beyond the current boundaries of the health sciences and the formal health sector. Communicating about the risks posed by climate change requires messages that motivate constructive engagement and support wise policy choices, rather than engendering indifference, fear, or despair. Actions that address climate change should offer a range of health, environmental, economic and social benefits. The questions at present, then, are not so much whether or why, but what and how? What do we do to prevent injury, illness and suffering related to climate change, and how do we do it most effectively?”

This issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine offers a range of articles by a group of experts who helps answer these questions. Meanwhile, there also remains for health researchers the extremely important task of assisting society in understanding the current and future risks to health, as part of the information base for policy decisions about the mitigation of climate change itself.

Irrespective of the extent to which human activity accounts for climate change, the next five papers present evidence of health impacts of climate change, including the direct effects of heat (George Luber and Michael McGeehin); vectorborne diseases (Kenneth Gage and colleagues); waterborne diseases (Jon Patz and colleagues); and air quality (Pat Kinney). The authors of the final paper in this section (Jeremy Hess and colleagues) describe the way these and other health effects vary by location, emphasizing the importance of geographic thinking in health.

Much public health activity will have to focus on adaptation — reducing harm from the effects of climate change. Key principles of adaptation are discussed by Kristie Ebi and Jan Semenza, and lessons learned from public health disaster preparedness are described by Mark Keim. Margalit Younger et al. expand on the ways in which policies and actions can both address climate change and yield additional health, environmental, and other benefits. Finally, Michael St. Louis and Jeremy Hess expand the discussion to global health, an appropriate focus since some of the most pressing challenges to health are expected to occur in the world’s poorest nations.

The articles appear in the November 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 35/Issue 5, published by Elsevier. In recognition of the importance of this topic, award-winning health reporter Kenny Goldberg (with the National Public Radio station KPBS, 89.5 FM in San Diego) has interviewed five of the contributing authors. These interviews are available as freely downloadable podcasts at: http://www.ajpmonline.org/content/podcast_collection. To access the full text of the associated articles visit http://www.ajpmonline.org/content/infoformedia.

Rohit T. Aggarwala, Director, Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, City of New York – exemplifying the translation of public health principles into policy Think Locally, Act Globally: How Curbing Global Warming Emissions Can Improve Public Health

Notes for editorsFull text of the articles is available upon request; contact eAJPM@ucsd.edu to obtain copies. To schedule an interview, please contact Bernadette Burden, CDC Division of Media Relations, 404 639 3286, bburden@cdc.gov.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINEThe American Journal of Preventive Medicine is the official journal of The American College of Preventive Medicine and the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research. It publishes articles in the areas of prevention research, teaching, practice and policy. Original research is published on interventions aimed at the prevention of chronic and acute disease and the promotion of individual and community health. The journal features papers that address the primary and secondary prevention of important clinical, behavioral and public health issues such as injury and violence, infectious disease, women's health, smoking, sedentary behaviors and physical activity, nutrition, diabetes, obesity, and alcohol and drug abuse. Papers also address educational initiatives aimed at improving the ability of health professionals to provide effective clinical prevention and public health services. The journal also publishes official policy statements from the two co-sponsoring organizations, health services research pertinent to prevention and public health, review articles, media reviews, and editorials.

About ElsevierElsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make groundbreaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions — among them ScienceDirect,
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